Death penalty for abortion: the lawmakers behind the controversial South Carolina bill

The proposed "Prenatal Equal Protection Act" sought to amend state code to define a fertilized egg as a person. This legal shift would have classified any abortion as willful homicide.

Under South Carolina law, a murder conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of thirty years in prison. By classifying abortion as homicide, the bill subjected women to the possibility of death penalty.

The bill faced immediate backlash for effectively criminalizing pregnant women. While some sponsors defended the measure as equal protection, many others withdrew their support, claiming they misunderstood the bill’s implications.

The individuals listed below have varying connections to the South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act (filed as H. 3549 in the 2023–2024 session and H. 3537 in the 2025–2026 session).

These specific bills are distinct from standard "heartbeat" bans because they redefine "person" to include a fertilized egg and remove exceptions for the mother. Under South Carolina law, this reclassification would subject anyone performing or undergoing an abortion to the state’s homicide laws, which carry a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum penalty of death.

Senate & Other Connections

Rex Rice: State Senator. Primary sponsor of S. 323 (2025), the "Unborn Child Protection Act." Similar to the House bill, this legislation defines a fertilized egg as a person, which would trigger the application of the state's homicide and assault statutes.
Lee Bright: State Senator. Sponsor of the Senate version of the legislation.
Richard Cash: State Senator. A long-time primary sponsor of "Personhood" legislation (e.g., S. 988), which seeks to provide full legal rights to fertilized eggs, effectively invoking the same homicide penalties as the House bills.

Primary Sponsors & Co-Sponsors

The following legislators sponsored or co-sponsored the legislation explicitly subjecting abortion to homicide statutes.

Rob Harris: Primary Sponsor of both H. 3549 (2023) and H. 3537 (2025). He is the lead architect of the bill.
April Cromer: Co-sponsor of H. 3549 (2023).
Ashley Trantham: Co-sponsor of H. 3549 (2023).
Bill Chumley: Co-sponsor of H. 3549 (2023) and H. 3537 (2025).
Blake Sanders: Co-sponsor of H. 3537 (2025).
Jay Kilmartin: Co-sponsor of H. 3549 (2023).
John Lastinger: Co-sponsor of H. 3537 (2025).
Jordan Pace: Co-sponsor of H. 3549 (2023).
Josiah Magnuson: Co-sponsor of H. 3549 (2023) and H. 3537 (2025).
Luke Rankin (House): Representative (District 14). Co-sponsor of H. 3537 (2025). Note: This is distinct from State Senator Luke Rankin, who chairs the Judiciary Committee and has historically blocked this specific legislation.
Mike Burns: Co-sponsor of H. 3549 (2023) and H. 3537 (2025).
Ryan McCabe: Co-sponsor of H. 3549 (2023).
Stephen Frank: Co-sponsor of H. 3537 (2025).
Steven Long: Co-sponsor of H. 3549 (2023) and H. 3537 (2025).
Stewart Jones: Co-sponsor of H. 3549 (2023).
Thomas Beach: Co-sponsor of H. 3549 (2023) and H. 3537 (2025).

Former Sponsors (Withdrew Support)

The following legislators initially co-sponsored the bill but removed their names after the death penalty implications drew public scrutiny.

David O'Neal: Co-sponsored H. 3549 in 2023 but formally requested to have his name removed from the bill on March 28, 2023.
Brian Lawson: Co-sponsored H. 3549 in 2023 but formally requested to have his name removed from the bill on March 13, 2023.
Fawn Pedalino: Co-sponsored H. 3549 in 2023 but formally requested to have his name removed from the bill on March 13, 2023.
Joe White: Co-sponsored H. 3549 in 2023 but formally requested to have his name removed from the bill on May 9, 2023.
David Vaughan: Co-sponsored H. 3549 in 2023 but formally requested to have her name removed from the bill on March 13, 2023.
Kathy Landing: Co-sponsored H. 3549 in 2023 but formally requested to have her name removed from the bill on February 28, 2023.
Mark Willis: Co-sponsored H. 3549 in 2023 but formally requested to have his name removed from the bill on March 14, 2023.
Matt Leber: Co-sponsored H. 3549 in 2023 but formally requested to have his name removed from the bill on February 28, 2023.
Patrick Haddon: Co-sponsored H. 3549 in 2023 but formally requested to have his name removed from the bill on March 13, 2023.
Randy Ligon: Co-sponsored H. 3549 in 2023 but formally requested to have his name removed from the bill on March 13, 2023.
Roger Nutt: Co-sponsored H. 3549 in 2023 but formally requested to have his name removed from the bill on March 28, 2023
Brandon Guffey: Co-sponsored H. 3549 in 2023 but formally requested to have his name removed from the bill on March 16, 2023.